Fallen Earth (First Colony Book 15), page 28
“And they’ve been roaming around for all this time?” Jared asked.
Clip nodded.
“I wonder if there is a way to help them. Reverse what’s been done,” Jared said.
“There might be,” Ethan said, and the others looked at him. “Like it or not, this is going to be an issue we need to address but without going to extremes.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Ethan looked at the others, his gaze lingering on Cynergy. “No one is going to force anything on you. It’s not going to be that way. And if that becomes an issue, Earth isn’t humanity’s only home.”
28
Lauren stood outside the prisoner’s entrance to the courtroom, and a pair of security guards waited with her. The corridor was extremely quiet. She’d been taken from the holding area and brought to the courthouse for her trial. Given the high-profile nature and colonial pressure, her case had been pushed to the front of the line. What normally would have taken several weeks or even months to put together had been accomplished in a little over a week.
Everything her primary defense attorney, Kay Garrick, had advised her about how fast this case would proceed had been correct. Kay and Miles Duncan had met with her more than a few times to strategize her defense and prepare her testimony. Miles had hoped to get the case dismissed without ever going to trial, but there was not enough evidence to support that. The compounds she’d been working with in her research to cure the hybrids had been found in each of the five victims. Lauren remembered their faces and wouldn’t forget them or their names, but Kay had advised her at times to adopt a more forensic frame of mind, which would help her defense. Lauren struggled with that. She could attack problems that way, even complex problems, but the victims were people who’d come to her for medical care, and they’d been reduced to pawns in someone’s twisted plan to implicate her in order to push forward their own political agenda.
The indicator light above the door turned green, and one of the security guards removed her restraints while the other opened the door. The courtroom was already filled with people. A wave of conversations echoed through the room, but as Lauren was escorted to the defense table, a momentary hush swept through the room and all eyes turned toward her.
Lauren straightened her spine, but the walk across the courtroom seemed to take much longer than it should’ve. She glanced behind where she would be seated and saw both her parents there. Her father wore his formal CDF uniform, which was an impressive sight. She saw that the rest of the envoy was there to show their support.
Both her parents stood and hugged her across the divider. There was an empty seat next to them for Isaac. She glanced at it and her mother leaned toward her.
“He sent word that he’s running late but that he would be here.”
Lauren nodded.
She’d noticed a few recon drones surveilling her location. Most people didn’t know what to look for, but she did. They were small and easy to miss, but she’d been expecting them.
Kay gestured for Lauren to sit between her and Miles.
She eyed Lauren for a moment. “How do you do that?”
Lauren frowned. “Do what?”
“You walk into this room with a grace I wouldn’t have on my best day. You have a commanding presence. Do you know that?”
Lauren felt a little embarrassed.
“What do you think, Miles?”
Miles blinked and quickly recovered. “It’s going to take more than that to win this case.”
Kay rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she leaned toward Lauren. “Sometimes he’s a little uptight. Anyway,” she said, moving on to the next thing on her considerable mental list, “you’re prepared for this, Lauren. We’ve gone over everything. But it doesn’t matter what I think; it only matters what I can prove and the holes I can poke in the prosecution’s case. All that aside, how do you feel?”
Lauren considered for a few moments. “Like there are a few million people watching me.” She wasn’t sure how this trial would be perceived by the public or the jurors that had been selected.
Kay smiled. “You’re not wrong about that. And it’s actually—” she stopped speaking when an officer of the court stood up.
“All rise for the honorable Judge Alexander Stone.”
Lauren stood, as did everyone else in the courtroom. Conversations stopped.
Alexander Stone strode into the room as if he’d done this many times. He was an imposing man—tall, broad-shouldered, and dark-skinned, with a strong face and a no-nonsense look in his eyes. His hairline receded to the top of his head, and his dark hair had more than a little gray in it.
He stepped up onto the elevated platform where his seat and desk were and sat down. The people sat in response.
Judge Stone brought up a holoscreen and glanced at it for a few seconds. Then he looked directly at Lauren for barely a second before starting.
Lauren had been advised as to how the trial would go, but she hadn’t anticipated how convincing the prosecuting attorney, Denton Lambert, could make his case. She tried not to look over at the jury as they listened to him make the case that Lauren had murdered an entire family. Kay had told her they might go for the accidental death charge, but that was not what happened. Lauren was being charged with murder, and as Denton Lambert gave his opening statements, Lauren felt as if everyone in the room was staring right at her, conviction and certain judgement in all of their gazes.
She watched as Denton Lambert turned his expressive, justice-seeking gray eyes toward the jury, promising them justice and punishment for Lauren’s crime. It made her stomach clench, and she tried to be as stoic as possible. She was innocent, but could Kay and Miles convince the jury of that fact?
When Kay gave her opening statement, it was straight to the point, with a sprinkling of her sparkling personality peppering through. At one point, she saw Miles give a small nod of approval.
Lauren watched as the prosecution called up their expert witnesses to give testimony about her alleged crime. Watching the evidence being paraded in front of her and showing the murdered family made her throat constrict. She clenched her teeth and a few times had to look away, her eyes becoming misty. It felt like the murders were being thrust right into her face. What was irrefutable was that Lauren’s experimental data and compounds had been used in the murders. Kay focused Lauren’s defense on poking holes in how Lauren could’ve performed such an action.
The hours went by, and they had a recess for lunch. Isaac hadn’t shown up, and Lauren was becoming agitated. She needed him there with her. She wanted him to stop what he was doing and be by her side. She knew he was trying to find a way to exonerate her, but she doubted he would find anything. If he hadn’t by now, there was nothing for him to find.
When they returned to the courtroom, it would be Lauren’s turn on the witness stand. She was expecting Kay to call her up, but she didn’t.
“First witness is Mary Chang,” Kay said.
Lauren frowned for a second, but then she finally recognized the name.
She turned as Mary Chang walked past and was sworn in. She sat in the chair and only glanced at Lauren for a brief moment.
“Mrs. Chang, do you recognize my client?”
“Yes, that’s Doctor Lauren Gates. I met her in General Holding.”
“Could you describe that first meeting?”
“I had no idea who she was. She was helping a man named Jankle. I tried to warn her away from him. He sometimes lashes out and he has challenges of his own. But Dr. Gates wouldn’t listen,” Mary said and shook her head, looking at Lauren for a moment. “We spoke for a bit and then she was summoned away by the guards. Considering that she was with the colonials, I didn’t expect to see her again after that.”
Kay nodded encouragingly to her, but Denton voiced an objection.
“Your Honor,” Kay said, “Mrs. Chang is a character witness.”
Judge Stone nodded. “Overruled,” he said and looked at Mary. “Please continue, Mrs. Chang.”
“She came back and began talking with a lot of people—told them how she was a doctor and could help them with their health problems.”
“How did people react to that?”
“Most were suspicious of her,” Mary said and looked at the jury. “Most of the people in the holding area were hybrids or somehow connected to hybrids.”
“Objection. The witness is offering conjecture as to the legality of the other prisoners. She has no expertise in this matter,” Denton Lambert said.
“Mrs. Chang is giving her opinion of the situation as she saw it.”
“I’ll allow it,” Judge Stone said.
“But your honor. This is—”
“Overruled, Mr. Lambert,” Judge Stone said with a warning tone in his voice.
Mary Chang stared at Denton Lambert for a second, then looked at Kay. “As I was saying, most people were suspicious, but Dr. Gates is an extremely stubborn woman. She helped a lot of people in the holding area, giving them advice on treatments, things to take up with the medical clinics when they got out.”
There was a loud buzz coming from outside the windows, and Lauren looked up at them. More than a few people did as well.
Kay cleared her throat. “Just one final question, Mrs. Chang. Would you go to Dr. Gates for your medical issues?”
“Absolutely.”
Kay smiled. “Thank you,” she said and looked at Denton. “Your witness.”
Denton stood up. “Mrs. Chang, what were you being held for?”
“I was brought in for questioning.”
“About what, specifically?”
“I was in the vicinity of a rally near the spacer ambassador offices, where they’ve been spreading lies about hybrids throughout the city.”
“Don’t you mean protestor?”
Mary grinned a little. “We still have the right to assembly. Besides, I was released, and no charges were filed against me. If you ask me, it was a waste of time, but it was also used as a tactic to intimidate us.”
Denton smiled and looked at Judge Stone. “Your honor, I’d like that last stricken from the record.”
Judge Stone nodded. “Sustained,” he said and looked at Mary Chang. “Thank you. Please show her out.”
Lauren watched as Kay brought up another three witnesses, all of whom had been in custody with her, and then brought another resident from the city.
“Objection,” Denton Lambert said.
“We haven’t even started yet,” Kay replied, and several of the jurors chuckled.
Denton looked at Judge Stone.
“Counselors, approach the bench.”
Lauren watched them walk up. Kay was such a short woman that Denton was over a foot taller than she was. Lauren used her implants to increase her auditory sensitivity. No alarms had been raised, and she wondered whether they could be detected.
“How many of these character witnesses are we to listen to?” Denton asked.
“As many as it takes for the jury to understand that my client isn’t guilty of the crime of which she’s being accused.”
“This is a waste of time,” Denton said.
“No, it’s not. Dr. Gates has had a profound impact on not only the community here but everywhere she goes. The testimonies are the same.”
The buzz outside the windows increased, and with her increased hearing she finally figured out what it was. There were people outside the courthouse, and it sounded like thousands of them.
“Do you hear that?” Kay said, gesturing toward the window. “There are tens of thousands of people out there to support Dr. Gates. All of them will say that she is incapable of murder.”
Lauren watched as Judge Stone regarded them both for a moment and then sent them back.
He turned toward the jury. “It has been brought to my attention that the defense has an extensive list of people offering to be a character witness for Dr. Gates. However, after the first three witnesses, it is my ruling that unless there is something new to be learned or revealed, we do not need to hear from any more of them.”
“Understood, Your Honor,” Kay said. She made a show of checking her holoscreen while glancing behind her for a fraction of a second. Then she turned back to her screen.
Denton stared at her with a smirk.
“Next witness,” Judge Stone said.
Kay stood, looking apologetic.
Denton cleared his throat. “What’s the problem here? Your Honor?”
Judge Stone arched a thick eyebrow. “Call your next witness, Counselor.”
“Your Honor,” Kay began and the door to the courtroom opened. Kay spun toward it and smiled. “Yes, Your Honor. The Defense calls Isaac Diaz.”
Lauren’s eyes widened, and she turned to see Isaac striding toward the divider.
One of Denton’s colleagues whispered something to him, and he nodded.
“Objection, Your Honor. Isaac Diaz is the accused’s fiancé, and as such, not exactly an unbiased witness.”
Judge Stone’s gaze swooped toward Kay.
“Yes, Your Honor, this is true. However, Isaac Diaz is my expert witness with a unique background that will lend considerable credence to the defense.”
Judge Stone looked at Isaac for a long moment. “What is his background?”
“He’s a medical doctor, but he’s also an investigator for the Colonial Intelligence Bureau. I have his dossier here for review.”
“Send it,” Judge Stone said.
Both Judge Stone and Denton reviewed what Kay had sent them.
Judge Stone looked at Isaac. “Dr. Diaz, it seems that you’re a man of many talents.”
“I am, Your Honor.”
“How are we to trust your testimony?”
“Your honor, I’ve been a CIB Agent for over a decade and have worked criminal cases for scenarios that are broad afield, usually beyond what local law enforcement is capable of investigating. What Ms. Garrick is doing with me is consolidating two expert witnesses into one.” Isaac’s gaze slid toward Denton and his team. “I was under the impression that there is a need to move the trial along to its fair and just conclusion, Your Honor.”
Judge Stone regarded Isaac for a few moments. Lauren thought he could make a boulder give away all its secrets if he kept staring at it. “I will allow this witness.”
“Your Honor,” Denton said. “We’d like to bring in our expert witness to refute the testimony that will be given.”
“That is your right, Counselor,” Judge Stone said.
“Your Honor,” Kay said. “I would like to add that Dr. Diaz consulted with Captain Mitchel from New Hope Security. I’m prepared to call him up after this witness.”
Lauren saw the slightest of twitches on the edges of Judge Stone’s lips as he nodded.
“Understood and noted, Counselor.”
Kay looked at Isaac. “Do you prefer to be called Dr. Diaz or Agent Diaz?”
“Dr. Diaz seems the most appropriate.”
Kay nodded. “Very well, Dr. Diaz. You’ve conducted your own investigation into these murders. Would you please share your findings?”
“Thank you. During my investigation, I noticed that the lab security records had been sabotaged within a twelve-hour window from when the accused is thought to have committed the crime.”
“Twelve hours. What happened after that?”
“The security protocols began recording as normal, which indicates that the system itself had been compromised using sophisticated time exploitation that was scheduled beforehand. However, the exploitation worked in such a way as to erase its footprint from the system,” Isaac said and turned toward the jurors. “This isn’t unheard of with security breaches. The evidence that couldn’t be altered was the lack of logs for the period during which the system itself recorded these events as an error. I have pulled this data for you to review.”
A large holoscreen came on, displaying multiple sub-windows showing what Isaac had found. Kay asked Isaac to take them through the evidence, which he did.
Kay looked at the jurors. “So, we have evidence of a security breach in the lab where my client was known to do her research.” She turned to Isaac. “What else did your investigation reveal?”
“The security breach shows that anyone could’ve accessed the lab and all the research stored there. I reviewed the medical examiner’s records for the victims. The compounds Dr. Gates was testing for her hybrid research proposal were found in all of them, but they’d been altered.”
“Objection, Your Honor. We’ve presented the medical examiner’s records, and the compounds are the same.”
“Your honor, Dr. Diaz has access to more sophisticated technology for this kind of analysis and has performed his own testing with the cooperation of the medical examiner’s office.”
Judge Stone frowned and looked at Isaac for a moment, then looked at Denton. “I’ll allow this line of questioning. I want to know what was found.”
Denton seemed to deflate as he sat.
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Kay replied. “Please continue, Dr. Diaz.”
“First, it should be clear that Dr. Gates was researching the extent of Vemus hybridization in humans, measuring its influence as it exhibits a wide range of symptoms to include those of remarkable capabilities.”
“What was the extent of your involvement in this research?” Kay asked.
“I helped her. We work closely together, so I’m very familiar with what she was doing. She was working on a peer review proposal so other experts could validate her findings. This included reversing hybridization altogether, which I know is a controversial subject.”
“Yes, that has been making the rounds in town halls and in recent demonstrations. Please continue.”
“The compounds used on the victims contain the same compounds taken from Dr. Gates’s lab storage kit. However, there were also additional compounds that, when combined, poisoned the victims. The CDF has encountered this before and has found records for its use on Magnus Station.”
